Wednesday, February 15, 2012

They sort of buried the lead here on the New York Times Artsbeat blog. Steve Jobs Monologue Downloadable, Free.

Readers are informed that Mike Daisey will release the full text of his incredibly famous and massively influential monologue for free, and not ask for royalties when it is performed.

The real story is in the final quote from Daisey:

"He also hopes that the free transcript will bring the monologue to another destination: “I have not managed to get this show to Broadway, but if someone else wants to try, more power to them.”

How is it possible that The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is not Broadway bound? Among its list of accomplishments are inspiring the most downloaded episode in the history of This American Life; changing the consciousness of the press about how beloved Apple does business; forcing Apple to actually change its corporate policies; making all of us take a good long look at what we're prepared to accept in order to get comfort and fun. This piece is at the heart of the cultural dialogue. It speaks to uniquely American issues like sending jobs overseas, our love of technology, our blinders when it comes to costs and capitalism, and our deification of those we admire. It's all we hope theater can be: stripped down, personal, immediate, essential, truthful.

How is it that Spider Man has more of a place on Broadway than Mike Daisey? What relationship does Broadway actually have to the finest work of American theater artists anymore?